Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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663. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to change the NTA legislation in order that transport planning throughout the State will be put on the same basis, rather than the situation that pertains at present whereby the NTA has a wider remit in the greater Dublin area than it has in the rest of the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6072/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​I am very much aware of the important interaction between land use planning and transport planning. They are inherently linked and are mutually reinforcing. At present, in making a regional spatial and economic strategy, a Regional Assembly is required to consult the planning authorities within the region. However, within the Greater Dublin Area, there is a further statutory requirement as the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 requires consistency between the GDA regional spatial and economic strategy and the National Transport Authority's GDA transport strategy. At present this requirement is unique to the GDA. That said, in recent years, the NTA has operated on a non-statutory basis to assist local authorities across our regional cities in the preparation of transport related strategies or the implementation of transport related projects.

I should point out that the Issues and Choices paper recently published as part of the public consultation for the National Planning Framework - Ireland 2040: Our Plan - refers to the matter. The paper notes that an extension of the approach used in the GDA to other assembly areas would greatly strengthen the levels of integration between land use planning and transport planning across the country.

My officials are currently examining the issue of how best to integrate the development of regional spatial and economic strategies and a relevant  transport strategy and are in early discussions with the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (which has a key role from the land use planning perspective) on the matter. Furthermore, my Department's ongoing input into the development of the new National Planning Framework will continue to emphasise the importance of more formal integration between land use and transport throughout the country.